


Bad Reputation

by Rollinginthesheep



Category: One Direction (Band), Taylor Swift (Musician), The 1975 (Band)
Genre: F/M, but yeah, drama ensures, he isnt, matty is harry's brother, taylor thinks matty might be a vampire, they don't get along
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-26
Updated: 2015-10-26
Packaged: 2018-04-28 06:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5081347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rollinginthesheep/pseuds/Rollinginthesheep
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <br/>
    <i>She's pure, so pure, like the love that's so uncut and raw</i>
    <br/>
    <i>And clean, so clean, as opposed to what I offered</i>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
  <p> </p>
</div>in which harry's mysterious half brother matty comes to town and taylor can't figure out whether she's running away or toward him.
            </blockquote>





	Bad Reputation

The funny thing about a bad reputation is that no matter how outlandish it is, at the end of the day it’s based on truth. It’s easy to deny this, to believe it’s merely something built on speculation and appearances, but you can never really trump the fact that if someone is considered bad, _it’s usually because they are bad._ It took me a long time to learn this lesson, in fact it wasn’t until my twenty fourth birthday that I fully realized this.

The first time I saw him it was a foggy night in London. The bar I’d been invited to was far stingier than I thought and I was beginning to question Ed’s choice in venues. I felt as though I stuck out like a sore thumb, an obvious outsider, unlike my redhead friend. I was lanky and blonde and so obviously stereotyped _‘a sweetheart’_ that I looked like a giant florescent dot in a sea of grey, black and leather. I nursed my vodka and soda, glancing furtively around from my position beside Ed in the smokers area. My English friend was engrossed in a conversation with someone I’d been vaguely introduced to earlier and whose name I’d already forgotten. It wasn’t as though either of them were paying attention to me anyway. In that moment of self-doubt, my eyes landed on him.

He was lanky, limbs covered in black denim and leather. He wore laced up boots and a pair of rounded black sunglasses that sat perched on his head, despite the fact the sun had gone down many hours ago. Everything about him seemed to be washed in shades of desaturation, even the color of his iris’ appeared to be a dark black instead of the muddy brown they probably were. His lips were quirked, a deadly sure smile etched into one side of his cheeks, confidently lopsided. A cigarette was perched between his thin lips and his dark eyes sparkled with mirth at something that was being said to him by his taller blonde friend. This same friend was the one who a moment later motioned my way. I tried to duck my head, but I found myself unable to look away when the dark haired boy glanced over. He stared simply, with no intention of pretending he wasn’t. He looked bemused and curious, dragging the lit cigarette from his lips and tilting his head backward as a trail of smoke blew from his casually sure smile. A tap on my arm was the only thing that could break me out of this momentarily intense staring match.

“Oi Taylor!” Ed’s voice drew me from my own curiosity, causing me to turn my head so quickly I got whiplash. My redheaded friend was looking at me with slight concern.

“Yeah?” I asked dumbly and Ed chuckled. I noticed his friend had gone and the cigarette Ed had been smoking was stubbed out on the ashtray on the table beside us.

“You coming?” He asked motioning to where his friend was walking away, heading toward the downstairs bar area. I nodded, still unsure of what was going on, following Ed silently. As we reached the stairs I glanced back toward the mysterious man from before, only to note that both him and his friend were nowhere to be seen. It was almost as though they were never there to begin with. I shook away this crazy thought.

–

“Harry, shut up.” I laughed at the expression on my boyfriend’s face as he pouted down at me, hands tangled in my recently cut hair. We were lying in the bed at his apartment and I couldn’t help but marvel at how perfect everything had been going. Harry and I had met through Ed and shortly afterward had begun dating. It had been six months and I couldn’t be happier with how things were going. Having someone like Harry in my life helped ease the immense homesickness I’d felt when I’d first daringly moved to London, leaving behind my family, friends and familiarity. I’d even met his parents and sister and had plans to introduce him to my own family when they visited for easter next year.

“Come on; just say I’m the best. Don’t make me invoke tickle torture!” He cooed and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his immaturity.

“All you did was move the tv into the bedroom. It isn’t exactly a ground breaking thought, you idiot.” I replied with a teasing smile upon my face. I couldn’t resist his green puppy eyes even at the best of times, and he was really overdoing it, so I found myself relenting a moment later. “Fine…you’re the best, Harry.” I repeated dully and Harry lit up at his victory.

“I know, I know.” He stated, nestling into my neck and leaving butterfly kisses down my chest causing me to melt once more. It was difficult to stay angry at him for long.

–

“Oh god-Harry!” I moaned, digging my hands into his dark curls. I could feel him grin roguishly into my neck before continuing his ministrations and tightening his hold on my thighs. He had me pushed against his apartment door with my dress hiked up to my hips whilst leaving marks upon my neck. Alongside the amount of wine and vodka in my system, it was almost too much and I’d resorted to becoming a whimpering mess of pleasure.

“ _Fuck_ -let me just-I’ll open the door.” He groaned and I let out a noise of complaint as he set me down and fished out the keys from his back pocket, unlocking the front door. The moment was ruined somewhat by this distraction and I found myself embarrassed by how loud I was panting. I hadn’t realized how caught up I’d gotten in Harry’s horny actions. He was very good at what he did… almost a little _too good._ Okay, I tried not to get jealous, but I knew Harry was pretty experienced, if the anecdotes I heard from Ed and the others meant anything. Before he and I got together, he’d never been in a serious relationship, apparently being a manwhore of sorts. When he’d voiced his interest in me, I’d told him point blank that I wasn’t going to be another one of those girls and I suppose the rest of the story was history.

The door swung open and I almost flung myself at him once more, not wanting to waste another moment and lose the momentum we had going. Harry eagerly latched back onto my lips, hauling me into his arms and stumbling backward into the apartment. He backed me into a wall and continuing to kiss passionately. We were so thoroughly involved in the moment that we didn’t even notice the light flicker on until the sound of clapping echoed the room. Harry froze, pausing upon my lips and pulling back slowly, glancing over his shoulder to spot the intruder. His hands released my thighs as though he’d been scolded and I slumped downward, not expecting the sudden lack of support. My gaze followed Harry’s and my eyes widened. It was someone I hadn’t seen in a year, someone I hadn’t even been sure existed. It was the same dark haired boy I’d seen at the bar Ed had taken me too when I’d first moved to London. He was sprawled across Harry’s favourite couch, clapping with exaggerated force.

“Matty.” Harry breathed, his voice cracking slightly as he spoke. The man, Matty, stood up and ambled over to us. I was flushing, trying to straighten my clothing and unsure of how to react to this development. Harry clearly knew this guy, and pretty well based on his reaction.

“Good show little brother.” Matty said with that same crooked smile I’d seen all that time ago upon his features and his eyes focused upon Harry’s form. “Long time, no see.” I glanced at my boyfriend, noting how his gaze hardened and his stance stiffened.

“I wonder why that is.” Harry replied with a steely tone, his hand reaching out for mine. It was only then that the stranger paid attention to my existence, his stare landing upon me once more. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt that same intensity in his dark eyes.

“And who is this lovely lady?” He asked with a curious tilt of the head. I tore my eyes from his and glanced over at Harry, whose grip tightened on my hand at this question.

“This is my girlfriend, Taylor. I’m sure Mum has been keeping you updated enough for you to know that. So stop patronizing us and explain why you broke into my apartment when you’re clearly not wanted here.” I’d never heard Harry sound so cold, and based on the familiarity of the interaction, these two were related. How had I never heard of Matty beforehand? I’d met the rest of his family yet a brother hadn’t been mentioned by Ed or even Harry himself.

Matty grinned again, this one seeming more forced than the one before. He nodded in my direction, his eyes straying upon me for a little longer than necessary before he spoke once more. “I came to tell you I’m back in town, thought we could catch up but I see you are…preoccupied. Also if you don’t want people getting into your apartment maybe you should find a less predictable place to hide your spare keys. Just a tip.” With that, he pulled the cigarette that had been tucked behind his ear and flipped it around between his index and middle finger. “Nice meeting you Taylor, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other yet again.” I couldn’t help but wonder if he was hinting at the fact we’d actually seen each other before, or if I was simply reading too much into his words. With that, he brushed past Harry with a less than soft knock of the shoulder and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

There was silence for a moment and I glanced at Harry with a pointed look. He was staring at the spot where his brother had once been standing, something unreadable in his eyes.

Well, the mood was definitely dead now.

–

Harry had remained mostly tight lipped about his older brother. All he’d said on the topic was that Matty was his older half-brother and they shared the same mother. Apparently Matty was trouble, someone not worth mentioning again. I’d dropped the topic after realizing how annoyed and reserved it made Harry and decided to poach it with Ed instead. My redheaded friend had eyed me guiltily when I’d asked why I hadn’t heard about the existence of another sibling of Harry’s.

“Matthew and Harry don’t have the best relationship. It’s complicated.” Ed explained, leaning back on the couch of his apartment’s lounge room. “Matty is bad news Taylor. There’s a good reason he’s warned you to stay away from him.” I let out a groan at yet another cryptic response on the topic.

“What happened between them?” I asked, my instantiable curiosity forcing me to press more into the subject. Ed shrugged half-heartedly.

“It’s a long story, Matty has done some bad stuff and Harry was the one to call him out on it. Their mom lets him get away with murder because of his difficult childhood and Gemma and Harry hate it.” Ed looked pensive for a moment. “Honestly, I don’t really know the whole issue. I guess Matty’s lack of direction plays into it. When he turned eighteen he was meant to go off to university, to which their mother had saved all this money for him to go to and Matty poached the money and used it to go off on a bender. Something like that. Harry doesn’t really like talking about it so I’d probably let him tell you the full story if I was you. Just give him time to process this and I’m sure he’ll tell you himself.”

I couldn’t argue with Ed’s logic. Harry wasn’t always the most open of people, it took him a lot to open up to people, and it was why he had never been one to commit to relationships, to plans, to people. Based on what had just said, it appeared to run in the family.

“I suppose you’re right. It’s just…I’d never seen Harry like that before, I got worried.” I felt a little foolish for prying so heavily, but I’d gotten caught up in the mystery of Matty’s reappearance and the nature of Harry and his relationship. Ed gave me a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

“It’s okay Taylor, just give it time.” He said and we settled back into silence once more, watching one of the old episodes of Kim Possible, trying not to focus on the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that I’m not getting told something.

–

It was as warm as it could get at night in London and I was striding up the stairs toward my apartment. I’d had to work late tonight as one of my coworkers Natalie hadn’t come into work, not even bothering to call in sick. It was lucky that I both enjoyed bartending and needed the money otherwise I’d have thrown a pointy shoe at my managers head by now.

“It’s a small world isn’t it?” A smooth voice intoned and I turned back toward the source of the comment, jumping slightly when my gaze landed on Matty’s figure. He was leaning against the stairway bannister. I was shocked that I’d managed to walk right past him considering how imposing his presence was. He had a cigarette perched behind his ear like always and wore his seemingly usual uniform of leather and dark skinny leg jeans.

“It is, however I do not feel this is coincidental that you are staking out the front of my apartment. How did you even get my address?” I shoved my key into the doorlock, shifting the strap of my handbag on my shoulder.

“Mom had your address written on the fridge and I thought I’d pay you a visit.” Matty ducked his head as I walked through the doorframe, obviously not even bothering to ask for an invitation inside. I gave him a pointed glare at this.

“That’s a lot of effort to go to, I hope you didn’t strain yourself.” I chimed quickly in response and he snorted at the sarcasm in my tone.

“Ah, I can feel your annoyance with me. Let me guess, Harry told you all about me and how I’m the big bad wolf.” I flinched at the realization that even Matty thought Harry would have told me something about the topic by now. Yet my boyfriend had been silent on the issue still, two weeks after his brother’s reappearance.

“No actually, but I don’t quite take kindly to people barging into my apartment without invitation.” I replied, brushing off my frustration at Harry’s reservations. I knew I was being silly, but the fact that everyone else seemed to know about Matty and Harry yet I didn’t, really rubbed me the wrong way.

Matty snorted, slumping down onto my couch and observing as I put my keys and handbag near the door grabbing my phone out and carrying it over to my charger. He didn’t speak, merely watching as I moved about, his stare causing me to tense uncomfortably.

“She sasses.” He murmured, obviously finding my frustration amusing. Another brief silence fell between us and I found myself reluctant to speak, wanting Matty to play his cards before I agitated myself further. However when it finally did speak, I found myself wishing he hadn’t.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come over and talk to you at the Blackjack.” I felt my jaw drop that he remembered the incident. I had, but that was more because I didn’t go out very often –despite working as a bartender- and hadn’t had much to drink. Getting attention from guys before Harry didn’t happen very often. It wasn’t like Matty was a forgettable face to begin with. 

“You remember that?” I find myself asking as I slumped down onto the couch opposite him, feeling dazed by the turn this conversation was taking. I had been suspecting Matty had come to me looking for advice on how to deal with his complicated relationship with Harry or something, not this.

“It’s hard to forget a face like yours.” He said softly and I felt my heartbeat stammer at his statement. There was no hidden mirth on his face, merely a deep stare and lightly parted lips. His eyes searched mine and I found myself tearing my gaze away from his and shooting back up from the couch at the sudden mood change of our conversation. This was dangerous territory.

“Thank you, I guess.” I replied unsure of what else I could say. Before Harry, I hadn’t been in very serious relationships and wasn’t quite one to draw attention to myself. So when people complimented me, I didn’t quite know how to accept them, even now. “But why are you even here Matty? Clearly you and Harry don’t get along so I doubt you were here to reminisce.”

Matty glanced down at his hands leaning back on the sofa as he contemplated a response. I found myself somewhat intrigued by this silence. From what I’d observed so far, he didn’t seem to be someone who struggled with sharing his thoughts very often.

“I don’t know.” He admitted moments later, glancing back up at me with dark eyes. “I usually do things in the moment and think them through later.” The tone he employed made me wonder if he wasn’t really informing me of this, but merely coming to a self-conclusion.

“And how has that worked out for you in the past?” I found myself asking, remembering Ed’s cautious explanation of Matty’s reckless behaviour. The man in question leant his head back and let out a mostly silent chuckle at my question.

“Good point.” He murmured a moment later tilting his head downward once more. A lazy smile adorned his face as he gazed at me. Once more, I was struck but how inescapable his stare was. His pupils were a dark brown, but I could see flecks of grey and green in them, a stark contrast to Harry’s bright emerald orbs. It was during this silent contemplation that my phone decided to blare loudly a familiar ringtone, the one set to only a single contact on my phone… _Harry_. Matty seemed as dazed as I was by the sudden noise, flinching noticeably and tearing his gaze away to stare at the offending device. “You should probably get that.”

I cleared my throat awkwardly before responding. “Yeah…I probably should.” Wasting not another moment I rose from the sofa and headed over to my phone, pulling it from the charger and swiping the answer button. I purposely turned my back on Matty, feeling somewhat guilty that I was even in the same room as him when speaking to Harry. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked, concerned to why he’d be calling me at this hour. Usually he was out by ten due to his constant work hours. He had a more stable job than my own, due to my university commitments.

“I just wanted to make sure you got home okay, you didn’t respond to my texts.” His voice is a slow and husky as always and I can’t help but sigh lightly at his concern for me. I glanced over my shoulder at Matty, who was sitting on the couch still, fiddling with his phone.

“Oh I’m sorry; it’s been a weird night.” _That’s for sure._ Harry groaned in agreement. “Are you alright?” I felt bad for causing him to stress, but it appeared that my lack of contact wasn’t the only issue he was dealing with.

Harry cleared his throat and shuffled the phone in his grip. “Matty is being an arse again.” I find myself flinching at the mention of his half-brother’s name, a paranoid part of me wondering if Harry knew he was in my apartment and sitting on my sofa.

“What happened?” I asked, moving toward the kitchen. It felt rude to discuss someone when they were in the same room as you, even if they had no idea you were. Common etiquette really.

“It’s nothing, I’ll tell you later. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Harry seemed reluctant to even vent on the issue of his brother, making me even more frustrated. Wasn’t the point of a relationship that you had someone to listen to your problems and help you in difficult times, without judgement? I was beginning to feel that maybe, just maybe, there was something more that Harry was hiding from me, aside from his complicated family relationships. Either way, now wasn’t the time to raise the issue, especially in current circumstances.

“Okay…I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Night Harry.” I murmured, reluctant to relent on the issue, but knowing that pushing Harry would only lead to a unnecessary fight.

“Night love.” With that he was gone, leaving behind only a dial tone. I sighed heavily and strode back into the lounge area, plugging my phone back on the charger. Matty was standing up now, his phone back in his back pocket and the infamous cigarette tucked behind his ear.

“Let me guess, my darling brother was checking in.” His tone was sardonic once more and he regarded me with a raised brow. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh at this, knowing I was treading back into ‘complicated family relationships’ territory.

“That’s not really your business.” I said feeling somewhat protective Harry and I’s interaction for some reason, I couldn’t quite figure out.

“No worries I know my cue to leave.” He replied his tongue peeking out from between his teeth . He grabbed the cigarette from it’s resting place and started to walk toward the door, not waiting for my response. Just as he opened it, he turned back and looked at me. “You can only deny this for so long Bambi.”

He was gone before I could even ask the reasons for the nickname. I stared, open mouthed at where he had been standing moments before, my heart beating wildly because of thoughts I didn’t want to understand or give validity to.


End file.
